


Shudder

by AutisticWriter



Series: One-Word Whump Prompts [8]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Ficlet, Gen, Heavy Angst, Morphine, Needles, Video Game: Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:53:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26303002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: Swanson needs his next dose.
Series: One-Word Whump Prompts [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1871002
Kudos: 6





	Shudder

The monster awakens, gnawing at his insides in a manor so familiar he nearly vomits. Cravings pound deep in his brain, a sharp, aching reminder that the monster needs feeding again. Sweat prickles across his skin, his heartbeat racing like a drum, and Orville shudders, hating but perfectly understanding the familiar sensations. To keep the monster at bay, he needs to inject again.

Orville drags himself to his feet and staggers in the vague direction of the outskirts of camp, almost colliding with a tree on the way. He only stops to pick up his most important Bible, a book that’s useless if you want to read it, but perfect for what he needs. Struggling to put one foot in front of the other, Orville slips out of camp, his disappearance unnoticed by the rest of the gang.

Once far enough away he hopes he won’t be disturbed, Orville slumps to the damp ground, bracing his back against a tree. With unfortunately well-practiced movements, Orville opens the Bible, revealing the hollow where pages should be but instead sit his instruments. He tugs up his sleeve and, grabbing the tourniquet, wraps it around his upper arm. Hands trembling, Orville manages to open the bottle and fill the syringe without any accidents, and stares at the bruised skin of his inner elbow, easily spotting a bulging vein thanks to the tourniquet.

And, finally, it is time. Orville winces when the needle breaks the skin, a sharp scratch that only gets stronger as he pushes down, blood leaking around the puncture wound as he pierces the vein. But the pain soon slips from his mind when he injects, the liquid poison flowing into his bloodstream. A shudder escapes his lips as the morphine travels through his body, the monster falling back asleep and the cravings fading.

As he packs up and lurches back to camp, the morphine taking control and making it even harder to walk straight, Orville finds himself wondering what life was like before the morphine took over his life. But he doesn’t dwell on it further, simply falling into his bed and crashing into dreamless sleep.


End file.
